4 Ways You Are Unknowingly Damaging Your Watch

A well-maintained watch will always ooze an amazing appeal and complement the aesthetics of your daily outfit. While it might seem challenging to choose a watch that matches your personal style due to the various options available, it’s quite easy to take care of the timepiece you choose. Furthermore, the flip side of paying a fortune and waiting ages to get your watch repaired should urge you to take even better care of it.

However, not every factor that can cause damage to your watch is obvious. There are some simple things that you might unknowingly do that will ultimately damage your watch.

Here are four watch care mistakes that you should avoid:

Failing to Avoid Water Damage

Nowadays, modern watches are water resistant, but not all are designed with the same water resistance technology. Some are barely water resistant, meaning that dipping them into water will only lead to damage. Others, like the Hamilton khaki, are water resistant but only up to certain water depths.

Wearing watches in hot water Jacuzzis or even in steamy saunas can expose them to harm. This is because the hot water might change the structure of your watch’s metal construction, making it easier for water to make its way into the watch. To be safe, ensure that you read the watch manual to determine the type of moisture tolerance that it’s designed for.

Setting the Date in the Danger Zone

You should avoid adjusting the date on your watch when the time is closer to the danger zone – 9 pm to 3 am. During this time, the watch gears are typically dealing with changing the date on the watch. Failure to do this will result in the misalignment of the date window, or the watch will start changing the date an hour or two before or after midnight.

Since different watch brands have different danger zones, be sure to identify yours in your watch manual. Worry not, however, since there is a trick to making adjustments close to the danger zone. Simply move the hour hand to the lower half of the dial, somewhere around 7 pm or even 5 pm, and adjust the date around this time.

Exposing Your Watch to Too Much Magnetism

With the advancements in modern technology, some watches are made with the ability to resist high magnetic fields, according to Gear Patrol. You can easily identify such watches with how high their Gauss rating is (Gauss is the measurement unit for magnetism). Not all watches have the same resistance to magnetism, and exposing a vulnerable watch to magnetic fields will damage it.

The watch’s escapement will start acting erratically. Unfortunately, magnetism is everywhere, from phones to stereos, and you might unknowingly place you watch close to these magnetic sources. To be safe, ensure that you place your magnetically vulnerable watches as far away from magnetic fields as possible.

Over-Polishing Your Watch

Everyone loves to look at a watch that shines like a new one. As a result, it can be tempting to keep polishing your watch regularly, but you might cause more harm than good to the long-term beauty of the watch. Every time you add a layer of polish to the watch, you lose a thin layer of the top material used to make the watch.

No matter how careful you are with your watch, it is impossible to avoid exposing your watch to wear and tear, but there are a lot of homemade solutions for eliminating such scratches. Limit the number of times that you polish your watch. Over-polishing vintage watches will only result in the loss of its value, especially if you want to resell it to someone who would love to have it in its original state.

Conclusion

Although most modern luxury watches are made with the idea of eliminating some of these issues in mind, not all of them will work the same. To take great care of your watch, always follow the recommended care tips provided with the manufacturer’s manual.